The Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

One of our friends was having her 40th birthday party and decided to have a huge birthday bash. We volunteered to make cupcakes and then she told us it was for 140 people. We decided to make 160 cupcakes. She wanted German Chocolate cupcakes, so we found a few chocolate cake recipes and tried them out. This recipe from Ina Garten’s German Chocolate Cupcakes recipe is the best one we tried by far. This recipe is just for the chocolate cupcake and not the pecan caramel filling.

I tested a number of recipes and these cupcakes rose nicely and were very tender.

I prefer to use Dutch processed cocoa. I splurge on getting Valrhona in bulk, but other Dutch processed cocoas work as well.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with 12 paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix
well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.

In a third bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the buttermilk and flour mixtures alternately in thirds, beginning with the buttermilk and ending with the flour. Don’t overmix! Fold the batter a few times with a rubber spatula to be sure it’s mixed.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners. (I use a 2-inch ice cream scoop.)

Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.